CHELSEA may not have disappeared over the horizon just yet even if for the chasing pack they are becoming an ever more distant sight.

But the way Antonio Conte celebrated with the travelling support after seeing his side comfortably negotiate what had looked beforehand the trickiest remaining obstacle suggested they soon will be.

The Italian generally operates at the higher end of the animated spectrum. Here at Goodison, after his side had scored three unanswered goals to keep all at bay, he could have been auditioning for The Muppet Show, arms pumping wildly as the fans roared their approval.

It was understandable too, given that Everton’s home record and their position in the table – they remain seventh even after this defeat, their first here this year and only the second all season.

It was not all plain sailing, which probably added to the relief for Chelsea’s manager. Everton were a tough proposition for just over an hour.

But once Ronald Koeman’s men shipped one – a beauty from Pedro – they had no answer to Chelsea’s late flurry, Gary Cahill and Willian adding two more late on.

Chelsea player ratings against Everton

Sun, April 30, 2017

Express Sport rates the Chelsea players during their Premier League win over Everton

So it was hard to argue with the “We shall not be moved” sung on supercharged loop by the Chelsea fans, as their team finally walked back across the turf to the tunnel.

Looking at a run-in comprising Middlesbrough at home, West Brom away, followed by Watford and the already-relegated Sunderland at Stamford Bridge, it is hard to see which one of that lot will try.

Four wins, 93 points, and a title triumph in Conte’s first season would be many people’s idea of the most likely outcome.

Koeman had done his best to throw a spanner in the works. Despite missing Morgan Schneiderlin with a thigh injury, the Everton boss deployed Idrissa Gueye on a man-marking mission, sticking to Eden Hazard like a limpet.

It worked to a degree with the Belgian getting precious few opportunities to shine and cutting off most of his supply to Diego Costa.

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Pedro scores Chelsea's first

Yet the problem – particularly given the absence of Schneiderlin – was the space it afforded to the rest of Chelsea’s front men. It was Pedro who produced one of two real moments of quality in the match with a 22-yard cracker on 66 minutes which blew the game open.

Everton will point to the fact that they had their own chances. Dominic Calvert-Lewin so nearly got them off to a flier, hitting the base of a post in the second minute, Romelu Lukaku thwarted by Cahill from turning in the rebound.

And after 41 minutes Enner Valencia failed to capitalise on a defensive mix-up when his cutback was whipped too hard past Lukaku who appeared to have the goal at his mercy.

Maarten Stekelenburg was always the busier of the two goalkeepers, blocking a shot from Cahill in the first few minutes and seeing the linesman’s flag and the side-netting rescue a couple of dangerous first-half occasions.

And in the second period Chelsea looked ever more threatening, Victor Moses thrashing a shot narrowly wide and Diego Costa nearly getting on the end of a blind backpass from Phil Jagielka.

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Gary Cahill scored his second goal of the week

It was Pedro whose barnstorming hit, engineering a yard of space and a sight of goal when switching from right foot to left, finally broke Everton’s resistance.

A dozen minutes later Hazard was floored by his shadow, Gueye, on the left side of the area and the free-kick was bundled in by Cahill.

To seal the points and start the celebrations, the two substitutes Cesc Fabregas and Willian combined; the Spaniard ghosting to the byline and cutting the ball back to the Brazilian, arriving as cavalry 10 yards out.

Despite the numbers, Everton will not be too downhearted by this performance. They put out a line-up which could not begin to match the experience in the Chelsea ranks and competed well in a full-blooded match.

In addition, Romelu Lukaku had another of his forgettable matches against top-six opposition making it less likely, not more, that Chelsea will be prepared to test Everton’s resolve to keep hold of him this summer.